Description
These Santa's Cookies are soft and chewy double chocolate chip M&M cookies made with vanilla pudding mix for extra moisture and flavor. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they are packed with semi-sweet and white chocolate chips, along with festive red and green M&M candies for a colorful and delicious treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter (softened)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 ounces, dry, instant)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Add-ins
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup red and green M&M candies
Instructions
- Cream the Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar together for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and light.
- Add Vanilla and Egg: Mix in the vanilla extract and egg until fully incorporated.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, instant vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, and salt to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- Mix Dry Into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Then stir in most of the semi sweet and white chocolate chips, reserving some for topping. Cover the dough and chill it for at least one hour to firm up.
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet by misting it with cooking spray and wiping with a paper towel for a light coating.
- Form Cookie Balls and Add Toppings: Roll about 3 tablespoons of chilled dough into golf ball-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Gently press the reserved chocolate chips and M&M candies onto the dough balls to ensure they show on the surface after baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 12 minutes, until the cookies are set but still slightly soft inside. Avoid overbaking to keep them chewy.
- Cool Cookies: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store Properly: Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them fresh.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential for the best texture and helps prevent spreading during baking.
- Use instant vanilla pudding mix, not cook-and-serve, to achieve the right moisture and softness.
- Pressing some chocolate chips and M&Ms on top of the cookie dough balls before baking makes the cookies look colorful and festive.
- Cookies will be soft when slightly underdone; allow cooling time to finish setting.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness and chewiness for up to one week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 238 kcal
- Sugar: 26 g
- Sodium: 186 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 13 mg
